David Beckham and Alex of Paris Saint-Germain vies for the ball with Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona.

The Journal provides minute-by-minute analysis of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal game between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. Joshua Robinson weighs in from the Parc des Princes.

The funny thing about Paris is that it’s often ambivalent about its home team, Paris Saint-Germain. The side’s highs and lows, especially after years of underachievement, have a tendency to fade into the background.

But tonight, the French capital certainly knows what’s going on. How couldn’t it? The television stations are billing it as “More than a game,” a play on Barcelona’s motto that it is “More than a club.” The front of the French sports daily L’Equipe featured only a full-page photo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi. And tonight, there’s a giant screen broadcasting the game at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

This is the new Paris Saint-Germain, the star-studded club backed by the Qatari royal family, taking on Europe’s old aristocracy, Barcelona at the Parc des Princes.

Both teams are comfortably at the top of their respective leagues, and by this point of the season, they’re treating them like secondary competitions. The prize that matters most to them now is the Champions League. The last time these sides met at this stage of the competition was 18 years ago and, over those two legs, PSG actually prevailed.

The biggest news from pregame is that David Beckham starts for Paris. Manager Carlo Ancelotti is going with experience tonight. And he has it in Beckham, who has played 105 career games in the Champions League, more than 10 of his teammates combined.

It’s been a tense opening period here with Paris creating the best two opportunities. The home side hit the post and then forced an excellent one-on-one save from Barca keeper Victor Valdes. PSG has been an excellent counter-attacking side this year, and that seems to be the way it’s going tonight.

A promising free kick for PSG after Lucas Moura is fouled on the right sees David Beckham step up. The flashbulbs are going off in here, expecting something special. And he delivers an excellent cross, but Lucas can’t make great contact with his header. Paris works a shot out of it and, once again, Valdes saves.

Dani Alves has been getting plenty of touches for Barcelona on the right, at times making Javier Pastore look downright silly. He hasn’t turned that possession into a great opening yet, but it looks like it’s coming. He’s just getting far too much space to not be dangerous.

This hasn’t been the incisive Barcelona side we saw in the second leg drubbing of Milan so far. They’ve had a lot of the ball, but not created a real opening worth mentioning. Paris has looked more dangerous, attacking efficiently down the flanks with Lucas Moura and Lavezzi. Even Ibrahimovic has tried pulling out wide to get on the ball and drive forward.

Another good break by Paris. Alex makes his authority felt with his second excellent tackle inside his own penalty area and he launches a counter attack that ends with Ibrahimovic dragging his shot wide. Real danger for Barcelona.

This Messi-Alex duel is actually turning interesting, something I never thought I’d type after watching Alex’s mediocre stint in Chelsea’s central defense. Once again, he’s robbed Messi in a central position on the edge of his own area. This PSG defense is certainly working hard to swarm the ball in the final third—something that Milan gave a clinic in during the first leg of its tie with Barcelona.

Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona’s Chilean striker, pulls out to the left and tries a shot after he can’t find an open teammate—not a whole lot of movement from Barca in the Tequila Sunrise uniforms—but Alex is there to block. The Barca fans here in the corner of the Parc des Princes haven’t had much to shout about yet.

A note on David Beckham: Ancelotti’s decided to play the 37-year-old in the heart of central midfield tonight, a physically demanding role. (Although it would have been more demanding against a more physically imposing side than the rather diminutive Barca.) Still, he’s kept up with the pace so far, but you can’t imagine him lasting a full 90. It’s also interesting that the first really dangerous free kick of the night—a chance from 20 yards out about 10 minutes ago—went to Ibrahimovic, who drilled in on goal and forced a good save from Valdes diving to his right.

When Barcelona lost that first leg in the Round of 16 to AC Milan, much of the postgame talk revolved around Barca’s lack of inspiration without their manager, Tito Vilanova to organize them from the bench. (He was in New York receiving cancer treatment.) But tonight, with Vilanova back on the bench, they haven’t looked all that much better. Of course, they now have a goal.

Messi preyed on PSG’s only moment of slack concentration so far. And not only is it a goal for Barca, it’s a goal on the road. PSG can’t really afford to be shut out tonight.

Messi so very nearly makes it two with one of those so-called Playstation moments, those passages of play when he makes things look like a video game. He picked up the ball on the right, shifted through the gears to cut inside and, leaving blue shirts in his wake, tried to bend one into the far corner. It didn’t bend quite enough.

Barca’s lead isn’t entirely unexpected, but the home side gave them a real scare in the opening 20 minutes, attacking with verve, speed, and producing at least two golden opportunities—PSG hit the post and then blew a one-on-one. Ancelotti’s halftime talk will probably focus on getting that energy back into PSG’s game.

As for Barcelona, they weathered the early pressure and stayed patient as always, despite not reaching their highest standard of play. Messi profited from a rare moment of disorganization in the Paris defense to find himself some space and lash the ball home from eight yards.

It’s a long road back from a one-goal deficit against Barca in the Champions League, but PSG has shown more than enough to believe it has an equalizing goal in it.

No word yet on what the Messi injury is, but he seemed to be moving fine at the end of the half. If it’s at all serious, that will certainly cast a pall over any victory Barcelona may pick up here tonight.

Again, Paris tried to get the ball back to front very quickly, and at times it looks like they’re forcing it. Barcelona’s not bringing huge amounts of pressure and PSG does have one of the best passers of the last decade sitting in the heart of midfield. Maybe it would pay to build things a little bit slower.

A good break in the making from Paris ends abruptly when Ibrahimovic, suddenly dropping deep, misplaces his pass. The action picks up again on the right and a lovely ball from Jallet just bypasses Dani Alves at the back post to land at Ibrahimovic’s feet. He doesn’t seem to expect it and lets it dribble away from him. But a positive opening nonetheless.

Barca wins a corner form the right and it sails over everyone. And the second one isn’t much better. PSG’s a tough team to compete with on set pieces, between the height of its center backs (Thiago Silva and Alex) and the reinforcements from elsewhere (Matuidi and Ibrahimovic). That said, Barcelona’s goal did come from a broken clearance after a corner kick.

Chance for Barca! Or at least it should have been. A sweeping move that begins with Mascherano cleaning out Ibrahimovic on the edge of his own area ends with Alexis Sanchez charging toward the PSG box with only one defender between him and the goal. What he doesn’t see is a wide open David Villa to his right and his snap shot is easily blocked.

A little more direct from PSG now with Matuidi bringing the ball straight up the middle. He combines with Ibrahimovic to his left, but they’re soon crowded out. Ibrahimovic’s cross lands safely in the hands of Valdes.

Alexis Sanchez winds up on the end of some great buildup and takes a difficult chance at the back post, hitting it first-time from about seven yards out. He might have brought it down, but instead his shot isn’t hard enough to trouble the keeper.

Meanwhile, for Barcelona, it’s midfield business as usual. Xavi and Iniesta haven’t had the most dangerous evening, but together, they’ve kept this side together, managing possession like a two-headed point guard. (Ignore for a moment how creepy that would be.)

These Barcelona players are dropping like flies! Another free kick in a central position from 25 yards out. This one belongs Xavi. It deflects off the wall, wrong-footing the keeper, and lands on top of the net. To concede a second goal like that would have been deeply unlucky.

These Barcelona players are dropping like flies! Another free kick in a central position from 25 yards out. This one belongs Xavi. It deflects off the wall, wrong-footing the keeper, and lands on top of the net. To concede a second goal like that would have been deeply unlucky.

What a save by Valdes! After a corner is half cleared and the ball comes back in, it somehow breaks to Ibrahimovic—who, for all the world, looked offside. He fires quickly, but Valdes is out like a bullet to block with his body. Meanwhile, during that madness, two Barca players (Jordi Alba and Mascherano) go down in a heap. Barcelona isn’t happy that neither one is allowed back on to defend the ensuing corner, since they both received treatment, and it’s all getting very tense in here.

Once again, Barcelona wasn’t the strongest defending a set piece and a free kick from the left was never cleared. That allowed it to land at Ibrahimovic’s feet and he wasn’t going to miss again. He bundled it home and sent the Parc des Princes into a frenzy. The flares are out in the stands now.

Ibrahimovic goes in the book now for a lunge on Jordi Alba, though Alba made it look much worse than it was (by my count he performed two complete revolutions on the ground). But PSG is turning up the pressure—they need a winner tonight more than Barca does.

Penalty to Barca! Alexis Sanchez pushes the ball past the diving keeper (and away from the goal), and Sirigu can’t help but bring him down. Sanchez was certainly playing for it, but it was enough to convince the referee. Xavi steps up to take it.

So Matuidi, with the last kick of the game, brings PSG level and keeps his side very much alive in this quarterfinal. It heads back to Spain with the scales slightly tipped in Barcelona’s favor—those two away goals mean that PSG has to win over there or tie with at least two goals of its own. But they will take heart from this performance, coming back twice from a goal down (including a debatable penalty kick) to hold a Barca side that was solid, if never extraordinary.

In the end, you have to ask where PSG would be without Ibrahimovic tonight: A goal, an assist on the Matuidi equalizer, and a lifeline.

SPORTS, THE JOURNAL WAY

Be sure to check your Daily Fix all week long. The Fix's daily rundown of the best sportswriting on the Web is joined by features such as The Count, a look at the most revealing sports stats, as well as regular live reports of major sports events. Tell us what you think of the Fix at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com.